6 Things to Know About the Future of PC Basketball

The Providence College Friars men's basketball team will be poised to make a run at their 5th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament when the 2017-2018 season starts.

Providence is comng off a 2016-17 season in which they were picked to finish 9th in the preseason and ended up finishing third. The Friars closed the year on a six game winning streak to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

See 6 Things to Know About the Future of PC Basketball in the Slideshow Below

They lost to USC 75-71 in the "First Four" game.

"You want to continue to build, you know I have to try to get this team to the tournament again and do our best in that tournament," PC head coach Ed Cooley told ESPN Radio earlier this week.

Other than the departure of Ryan Fazekas and -- the potential departure of Rodney Bullock, who declared for the NBA Draft, but did not hire an agent -- the Friars are bringing everyone back next season.

From incoming recruits to returning players to a look around the Big East Conference, GoLocalProv looks at the future of PC Basketball.

Newcomers

The Providence College Friars will welcome two top recruits to their roster for the 2017-18 season, forward Nate Watson and center Dajour Dickens. These two additions will give PC front court depth, something they have been missing over last couple of seasons.

Dickens is a 6'10" center from Virginia who is rated a four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN.

He attended and played for Bethel High School, while also playing for the AAU team, Boo Williams.

He had offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Creighton.

Watson is a 6'9" forward, also from Virginia, and is rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com.

He is listed as the 3rd best player in the state of Virginia.

In his junior season, Watson averaged 13 points and 7.6 rebounds for Bishop O’Connell High School.

Ed Cooley

In an interview on ESPN Radio earlier this week, Ed Cooley was asked about the head coach opening at Georgetown, and other openings that he might be interested in or who might be interested in him.

Here is what Cooley had to say:

"I think you always talk to people that you love, you talk to people that you are comfortable with, it doesn’t hurt to have a conversation. Having a conversation and actually doing something are two totally different things.

Providence has given me an opportunity, it is a place that is home and all you want to do is your best while you are there. You want to continue to build, you know I have to try to get this team to the tournament again and do our best in that tournament."

Cooley went on to say that he has not got a call from Georgetown.

Cooley signed a 10-year deal at Providence in March of 2016 that pays him more than $2 million per year.

The Big East in 2017

PC will likely be picked as one of the favorites in the Big East next season.

Among the teams that will challenge them include defending Big East champion Villanova, Butler and Xavier.

Villanova is losing two key players in Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins, but return Phil Booth and Jalen Brunson. They will also welcome in top recruits Collin Gillespsie, Jermaine Samuels and Omari Spellman.

Xavier is losing Edmund Sumner to the NBA Draft, but will return J.P. Macura and Quentin Goodin to help fill the void. At the forward position, the Musketeers have Tyrique Jones and former Iowa State forward Brady Ernst who will be eligible to play this season.